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Understanding 'Moneyland' — the offshore world of the super-rich
Many of the world's problems — from declining public services to corruption — can be explained in two words: offshore wealth. That's according to investigative journalist Oliver Bullough, who is working to unravel the intricate global web of money and power. To try and de-mystify the idea, Bullough came up with his own word: Moneyland. "I invented 'Moneyland' to try and get my own head around this problem, basically," he says.
[...] One of the greatest stumbling blocks in addressing the issues around offshore tax havens, Bullough says, is that the very term is relatively ambiguous and generally difficult to conceptualise. "'Offshore' isn't a place, it's not the British Virgin Islands or Hong Kong or whatever," he says. "'Offshore' just means not here; elsewhere. It's a legal construct that essentially means something can hide without being anywhere in particular."
To try and de-mystify the idea, Bullough came up with his own word: Moneyland. "I invented 'Moneyland' to try and get my own head around this problem, basically," he says. Moneyland — also the name of Bullough's book on the issue — makes up roughly 10 per cent of the world's wealth, he says. "If you look at its economy, it is the third biggest economy in the world after America and China, it's absolutely massive." Bullough declares London to be the likely capital of Moneyland, followed closely by New York. According to Oxfam, the top three-and-a-half dozen people in the world this year owns the same amount of stuff as the bottom 3.5 billion people in the world.
How far does the Gini curve have to bend before something snaps?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by jelizondo on Monday October 15 2018, @05:35PM (7 children)
I know of a case, an example of many, of how offshore money keeps moving around the world. Some years ago, Mexico passed a law regulating companies with headquarters in “fiscal paradises” (i.e. countries with low or no taxation for foreign companies).
Immediately, the offshore companies established an LLC in some friendly jurisdiction in the US (Delaware or Texas, two favorites) and became the “front” of the offshore company.
Technically the LLC is not headquartered in a “fiscal paradise” and thus is exempt from the law.
I know of several Spanish companies “headquartered” in Ireland or Holland, doing business in Mexico through a U.S. LLC. Pay taxes in Mexico? Pay taxes in the US? Pay taxes in Spain? Nope, nope and nope. Pay taxes in Holland? Hell no, they are a foreign company.
Of course, the EU is going after the taxes owed by Google, Microsoft and other big names, but there are literally thousands of such companies moving billions of dollars around, paying no taxes in any jurisdiction. And of course, they’ll move to Belize, U.S. Virgin Islands, Singapore or wherever they can avoid the taxman.
Now the kicker, ordinary folks can’t afford the accountants and lawyers needed to knit this web of companies, so must pay taxes while the richest pay little to none.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday October 15 2018, @06:18PM (5 children)
"Offshore' just means not here; elsewhere."
Cloud banking.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday October 15 2018, @06:48PM (4 children)
More specifically, it means "Not wherever a tax collector is looking."
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Informative) by bob_super on Monday October 15 2018, @07:33PM (3 children)
A lot of times, the tax collector is looking.
In most cases, there's just not much she can do, and in some cases, she's just learning the best tricks before going private.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @08:28PM (2 children)
And in other cases the tax collector is man.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @10:13PM
Dumbfuck MRA incel got triggered by the word 'she'!
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Monday October 15 2018, @11:01PM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_OqPRhGVtVw [youtube.com]
Go to about 1:30
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 16 2018, @05:58PM
only sellouts, cowards and idiots pay income tax.